Ian Koegelenberg

This week, another technic wizard, Ian Koegelenberg, blows us away with a technic barge crane he built. Ian takes us through the history of the YD-171 barge crane.

Through this brief walk in history, Ian explains how the barge crane was ordered in 1937 by the Kriegsmarine and built by Demag Cranes AG. The crane was used to assist with the maintenance of their u-boats and other vessels and completed in 1941.

After World War II, Herman the German, as the crane was known, was seized as a war prize and taken to Long Beach through the Panama Canal. In 1996, the crane was restored and then employed in the Panama Canal for service, where it was renamed to “Titan”.

Ian faithfully replicated this crane in LEGO technic, bringing it to life with ten technic motors, operated by infrared sensors. The crane is capable of rotating and level luffing. All the lift blocks are driven by medium motors, where five control the blocks and three controls the slides.